Technical Difficulties
by desolate butterfly
Summary: [HenryTony] Henry was almost five centuries old, he could control people's minds, he could break through steel doors, defeat Egyptian gods...but do you think he could program his own VCR?  Warning:  slash and spoilers for Tanya Huff's novels.


Title: Technical Difficulties  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Pairing: Henry/Tony  
Rating: PG - 13  
Spoiler: Bookverse (obviously), but no spoilers in particular unless including Tony counts as one.  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used, or the universe of Tanya Huff's _Blood_ series.  
Warnings: slash relationships  
Summary: Henry still needs Tony around for some things.

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Tony's finger hovered over the remote button, neck twisting to the side as he glanced over his shoulder at the vampire lounging on the couch.

"You're paying attention, right Henry?"

Red-gold brows lifted in an expression of innocent indignation, as the vampire smiled and said, "Of course."

There was a moment of skepticism, when Tony felt Henry's gaze prickle the skin on the back of his neck and suspected that the vampire was watching his backside and the pulse in his throat more than he was watching the hand with the remote. He frowned, and Henry's smile broadened and his shoulder lifted in a shrug that still managed to look one-hundred percent imperious.

"Carry on with your explanations."

Tony snorted and muttered, "So glad I have your approval, oh prince," but he turned back to the television and the remote.

"So, first you have to switch from the normal cable channel to video one using this button right here. Then you turn the DVD player on with the white remote, that's the one that has the same name on it as the DVD player."

"Mmhmm?"

The acknowledgment was seductively hummed and Tony had to force himself to keep facing the blue screen of the television and not turn around to peer into those eyes to see if they were darkening to velvet black.

"So," he swallowed around the tightness in his throat, "then you press the menu button and use the arrows to go through and pick the record option. Fill in the exact time and the channel you want to tape in the boxes, press enter. Use the black remote to turn the stereo system to DVD sound, and make sure you have a blank disc in the machine. Turn the television back onto the cable setting and…"

Arms wrapped around his torso from behind, a little below his shoulders because he had _just_ gained a height advantage of about three inches over Henry this past year. Better nutrition had a lot to do with the growth spurt. Tony figured if he kept eating regular meals, he'd soon tower over the shorter man. The thought was a little comforting, but not that much since Henry could seem pretty damn tall when he wanted to.

Ringed fingers brushed over the buttons of his shirt as Henry's voice murmured in his ear, and Tony found himself leaning back automatically, his body responding to the unspoken command the vampire's proximity made.

"And then I can tape Batman?"

The corners of Tony's mouth curved upwards. It should have sounded ridiculous. It _did_ sound ridiculous. But this side of Henry was probably the one he liked best. The Henry who was willing to be dorkily enthusiastic over a cartoon show about a guy who fought crime dressed in tights and a cape.

"Yes, then you can tape Batman," he laughed. "But you'd better have been really listening this time, because I'm not showing you how to do this again."

"That's what you said last time."

"I really mean it this time, though."

"Do you?" The purred words stiffened Tony's spine and other various parts of his anatomy. A hand played along the collar of his shirt and then deftly undid a button and slipped inside, cool against Tony's heated skin. The younger man shivered.

"Henry…"

The hands left his body and Tony found himself turning to look uncertainly into Henry's quietly serious expression. But the vampire's eyes were still blue-grey and clear. He wasn't attempting to control Tony's response. If Tony wanted him to, he would stop. _'But why the hell would I want him to?'_

"Tony?"

"Nothing. It's just," he twined his fingers in the other man's shirt, untucking it from the pressed slacks he wore, and grinned, "I'm not having sex in the living room again."

The concern hovering around Henry's lips faded and transformed into a smirk, the heat of his gaze making up for the coolness of his hands on Tony's skin.

"Then by all means," the vampire said, hooking his fingers into the loops of Tony's jeans and pulling his hips forward, "let's move this to the bedroom."

A brush of fangs against Tony's wrist made the remote control slip from his fingers to the floor. It would take them an hour to find where it had rolled beneath the couch later on.

--

fin.

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End file.
